San Clemente Municipal Code Art. II Definitions and Abbreviations

A. .....Unless otherwise defined herein, terms related to water quality shall be defined in the same manner as in the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, published jointly by the American Public Health Association (APHA), The American Water Works Association (AWWA), and the Water Environment Federation (WEF).

B. .....The testing procedure for waste constituents and characteristics shall be as described in 40 CFR 136 as specified.

(Ord. No. 1721, § 2(Exh. A), 12-21-21)

A. .....Words in this chapter in the singular may include the plural and the plural may include the singular. Use of masculine shall mean feminine and the use of feminine shall mean masculine.

B. .....The definitions in this chapter are not intended to narrow the scope of definitions set forth in federal or state regulations. Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise the following terms, or pronouns used in their place, shall be interpreted as follows:

"Act" or "the Act" means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act also known as the Clean Water Act (CWA) as well as any amendments, guidelines, limitation or standards promulgated by the EPA pursuant to the Act, (33 USC 1251 et seq.).

"Approval Authority" means the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), or the local California Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB).

"Baseline monitoring report (BMR)" means a required report for all industrial users subject to a categorical pretreatment standard. A BMR provides information that documents an industrial user's compliance status with all applicable pretreatment standards.

"Batch dump" means the discharge of pollutants or compatible wastes in a manner or method that is not approved or is prohibited by the CSC.

"Best available technology (BAT)" means a level of technology that is based on the very best (state of the art) control and treatment measures that have been developed or are capable of being developed for a particular industrial category.

"Best management practices (BMPs)" means a set of schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, operating procedures and other management practices used to control a user or a group of similar users' discharge to sewerage facilities. BMPs may include, but are not limited to treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage of leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage of raw material storage.

"Best practicable technology (BPT)" means a level of technology represented by the average of the best existing wastewater treatment performance levels within an industrial category.

"Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)".means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter in wastewater using appropriate testing procedure and expressed as a concentration (e.g., mg/L).

"Biodegradable" means a material that can be decomposed by a biological process.

"Biohazardous waste" means a material that is likely to transmit etiologic agents that cause, or significantly contribute to the cause of, increased morbidity or mortality of human beings and as set forth by the State Medical Waste Management Act.

"Building sewer" means the entire length of a private sewage service lateral extending from the building or structure that is connected to a sewerage facility.

"By-pass" means any Intentional diversion of waste streams around any portion of a user's pretreatment equipment.

"Categorical industrial user (CIU)" means a user subject to a federal categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard.

"Chain of custody" means a document used to ensure the integrity of a sample, which includes a record of each person involved in the possession of a sample, securing the sample, and final disposal of the sample.

"Chemical oxygen demand (COD)" means the quantity of oxygen required to oxidize all compounds, both organic and inorganic, in wastewater using the appropriate testing procedures and expressed as a concentration (e.g., mg/L).

"City Council" or "Council" means the City Council of the City of San Clemente.

"City Manager" means the individual duly designated by the City Council of the CSC to administer this chapter.

"City of San Clemente (CSC)" means the agency that is responsible for the adoption of this chapter and is a MA of SOCWA.

"Class I user" means any user determined by the CSC that meets the criteria of significant industrial user (SIU) as described in 40 CFR 403.

"Class II user" means any user determined by the CSC that is not a SIU and may discharge pollutants or non-compatible wastes, which may Impact sewerage facilities.

"Class III user" means any user determined by the CSC that is not a SIU and may discharge conventional pollutants or compatible wastes, which may impact sewerage facilities.

"Class IV user" means any user determined by the CSC that may discharge or is proposing to discharge special wastewater that may contain toxic or conventional pollutants, or non-compatible or compatible wastes, which may impact sewerage facilities.

"Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)" means the code of the Federal Government of the United States of America, which contains all of the federal regulations including environmental regulations.

"Company authorized representative (CAR)" means an individual designated by the user, who is responsible for signing all submittals to CSC or SOCWA and who meets the criteria as described in 40 CFR 403.

"Compatible waste" means a waste that does not contain toxic pollutants or non-compatible waste. This may include a combination of, but not limited to, conventional pollutants or other wastes that sewerage facilities are designed to accept and/or remove. Compatible waste is non-compatible when discharged in quantities that have an adverse effect on sewerage facilities or NPDES Permit, or when discharged in qualities or quantities violating any National Pollutant Standard or other discharge requirement or as determined by the CSC and/or SOCWA.

"Composite sample" means a collection of individual samples obtained at intervals based on an increment of either flow or time. The resulting mixture, a composite sample, forms a representative sample of the wastestream discharged during the sample period.

"Control authority" means the City of San Clemente (CSC) and/or the South Orange County Wastewater Authority (SOCWA).

"Conventional pollutants" means those pollutants which are designated pursuant to section 304(a)(4) of the Act which include, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), fecal coliform and oil and grease.

"Daily maximum" means the arithmetic average of all effluent samples for a pollutant collected during a calendar day.

"Daily maximum limit" means the maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a calendar day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged over the course of the day. When daily maximum limits are expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.

"Discharger" means any entity which discharges or causes a discharge of wastewater that is directly or indirectly discharged to sewerage facilities. May be interchangeable with indirect discharger, industrial user, permittee, person or user.

"Discharge requirements" means the requirements of federal, state or local public agencies having jurisdiction over the effluent discharged into sewerage facilities or the environment.

"Disposal" means a controlled release to sewerage facilities or to the environment.

"Dry weather nuisance flow (nuisance flow)" means any water or other discharge which finds its way to storm drains from urban areas, composed primarily of runoff from lawn or landscape watering, washing of vehicles, hosing down of paved areas, storm drain infiltration, natural groundwater from sub-drain systems and a variety of other sources associated with urban activity. "Effluent" means usually water or wastewater discharged partially or completely treated or untreated from an industrial user or treatment plant, or part thereof.

"Enforcement" means a series of progressively more stringent actions used to seek compliance with federal, state or local laws, regulations, limitations and this chapter guided by the Enforcement Response Plan, adopted as Resolution No. CSC09.96. Any enforcement may include monetary fees, fines or penalties.

"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)" means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the Regional Water Management Division Director, the Regional Administrator, or other duly authorized official of said agency.

"Existing source" means any source of discharge that is not a "New Source."

"Fee" means any amount assessed to a discharger for the use of any portion of a sewerage facility which shall include, but not be limited to, connection fees, monthly sewer service, industrial wastewater discharge permit, excess capacity fee, industrial wastewater treatment, laboratory testing, industrial inspection, monitoring, and sampling fees.

"Flow monitoring equipment" means equipment and/or structures provided at the user's sole expense to measure, totalize, record and/or sample incoming water to the user's site or the wastewater discharged to sewerage facilities.

"Grab Sample" means a sample collected from a wastestream without regard to the flow in the wastestream and over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes.

"Grease" includes, but is not limited to fats, oils and grease (FOG), waxes and other nonvolatile materials as determined by the appropriate testing procedures.

"Groundwater" means water that is beneath the surface of the earth.

"Hazardous waste" means any waste that Is potentially damaging to the environment or a person's health due to toxicity, Ignitability, corrosivity, chemical reactivity or other reasons as defined under state and/or federal laws and regulations.

"Indirect discharge or discharge" means the introduction of pollutants into a public owned treatment works from any non-domestic source regulated under section 307(b), (c), or (d) of the Act.

"Industrial user (IU)" means any site that discharges Industrial wastewater to sewerage facilities. May be interchangeable with discharger, indirect discharger, permittee, person or user.

"Industrial wastewater" means all liquid-carried wastes or wastewater of the community, excluding domestic wastewater, and may include all wastewater from any producing, manufacturing, processing, agricultural; or other operation or location.

"Inspector" means a person authorized by the City Manager to inspect and/or monitor any industrial user's discharge or anticipated discharge to any sewerage facility.

"Interference" means a discharge that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts any sewerage facilities, any treatment processes or operations or any sludge processes, use or disposal and therefore, is a cause of violation of the CSC's or SOCWA's NPDES permits (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or prevents lawful biosolids or treated effluent use or disposal.

"Interjurisdictional agreements (also referred to as interagency agreements)" means an agreement between SOCWA and any individual or combination of MA's or other local sewering agency that defines the authority and responsibility to implement the pretreatment and source control program and to enforce the regulations contained in this chapter within the individual and/or combination of MA's or any other local sewering agency's service area.

"Local limits" means a set of specific discharge limits developed and enforced by the CSC and/or SOCWA upon user sites In order to implement the general and specific discharge prohibitions as described in 40 CFR 403.

"Local sewering agency" means any public agency or private company responsible for the collection, treatment or disposal of wastewater to sewerage facilities that are duly authorized under the laws of the State to construct and/or maintain sewerage facilities.

"Lower explosive limit (LEL)" means the point where an explosive gas In an area of atmosphere that is in sufficient concentration as to result in an explosion if a sufficient ignition source is present.

"Mass emission rate" means the weight of material discharged to sewerage facilities during a given time interval. Unless otherwise specified, the "mass emission rate" shall mean pounds per day of a particular constituent or combinations of constituents.

"May" is permissive or discretionary.

"Member agency (MA)" means any one, combination, or all of the individual cities or districts which are members of SOCWA. They are: City of Laguna Beach (CLB), City of San Clemente (CSC), City of San Juan Capistrano (CSJC), El Toro Water District (ETWD), Emerald Bay Service District (EBSD), Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD), Moulton Niguel Water District (MNWD), Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD), South Coast Water District (SCWD) and the Trabuco Canyon Water District (TCWD).

"Monthly average" means the sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar month divided by the number of daily discharges measured during the month.

"National pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit" means the document issued for the control of discharges to surface water of the United States as defined in Section 402 of the Act.

"National pretreatment standards" includes the following terms established pursuant to 40 CFR § 403.5 and 40 CFR § 403.6: "Prohibited Discharges", "General Prohibitions", Specific Prohibitions", "Local limits", "categorical standards", "categorical pretreatment standards", "pretreatment standards", and "standards". These terms apply to any pollutant discharge regulations that are promulgated by the EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act that limits and/or prohibits the wastewater discharged by industrial users into a sewerage facility.

"New source" means those sources that are new as defined by 40 CFR 403.

"Non-compatible waste" means a waste that contains toxic or non-compatible pollutants that may pass-through or cause interference if discharged to sewerage facilities.

"Nonindustrial wastewater discharge (NIWD) form" means a form issued to users that are considered to have wastewater of no concern discharging to sewerage facilities. This form may contain BMP's.

"Normal work day" means any period of time during which production or operation is taking place or any period which discharge to sewerage facilities is occurring.

"North American industry classification system (NAICS)" means an industry classification system that groups establishments into industries based on the activities which they are primarily engaged.

"Nuisance" means anything which may be injurious to health or is indecent or offensive to the senses or an obstruction to the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfort or enjoyment of life or property or which affects at the same time an entire community or neighborhood or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal.

"Pass through" means a discharge from a user which exits sewerage facilities into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with any discharge from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the CSC or SOCWA NPDES permits, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.

"Permittee" means a discharger who has received a permit to discharge wastewater into the CSC's and/or SOCWA's sewerage facilities subject to the requirements and conditions established by the CSC and/or SOCWA. "Permittee" may be interchangeable with discharger, indirect discharger, industrial user, person or user.

"Person" means any individual, partnership, copartnership, firm, company, association, corporation, joint stock company, trust, estate, tenant, lessee, renter, governmental entity, or any other legal entity; or their legal representatives, agents or assigns. This definition includes all federal, state and local government entities. "Persons" may be interchangeable with discharger, indirect discharger, industrial user, permittee or user.

"Pesticides" means those compounds classified as such under federal or state law or regulations including, but not limited to, DDT (dichlordiphenyltrichloroethane, both isomers), DDE (dichlorodiphenylethylene), DDD (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane), Aldrin, Benzene Hexachloride (alpha, beta and gamma isomers), Chlordane, Endrin, Endrin aldehyde, TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin), Toxaphene, Alpha-endosulfan, Betaendosulfan, Endosulfan sulfate, Heptachlor, Heptachlor epoxide, Dieldrin, Demeton, Guthion, Malathion, Methoxychlor, Merex and Parathion.

"pH" means a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, expressed in standard units.

"Pollutant" means any substance, constituent, compound or characteristic of wastewater on which a discharge limitation may be imposed either by the CSC, SOCWA or the regulatory agencies empowered to regulate the CSC and SOCWA.

"Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)" means those compounds classified as such under federal and state law including, but not limited to Aroclors 1016, 1221, 1228, 1232, 1242, 1248, 1254, 1260 and 1262.

"Pretreatment" means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to or in lieu of, introducing such pollutants into sewerage facilities. This reduction, elimination or alteration of pollutants can be obtained by physical, chemical, or biological process, by process changes or by other means except as described by 40 CFR 403.

"Pretreatment equipment" means any equipment, structures or devices used for the treatment or flow limitation of industrial wastewater prior to discharge to sewerage facilities.

"Pretreatment requirements" means any substantive or procedural requirements related to pretreatment imposed on a user other than a national pretreatment standard.

"Prohibited discharges" means any prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances. These prohibitions appear in Article 5.

"Public agency" means the state and any city, county, district, agency, other local authority or public body of or within this state.

"Rainwater" means water resulting from precipitation which directly falls upon any surface.

"Regulatory agencies" means those agencies having jurisdiction over the operation of the CSC and SOCWA, including, but not limited to, the following:

a. United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

b. State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).

c. Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB).

d. South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD).

e. California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal-EPA).

"Representative sample point" means a location set forth in the user's WD permit or other control mechanism from which wastewater can be collected that is nearly identical in content and consistency as possible to that of the entire flow of wastewater being sampled. For categorical users this point shall be at the end of each regulated process, and for all other users shall be determined on a case-by-case basis.

"Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)" means the RCRA Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) to implement the conservation and recovery of used or spent resources and all amendments thereto and regulations thereunder.

"Routine sampling" means any sampling conducted by the CSC or SOCWA to verify compliance of a user's discharge to sewerage facilities. Sampling may consist of either grab or composite samples or a combination of both.

"Sampling equipment" means any equipment or structure provided at the user's sole expense for the CSC, SOCWA or the user to measure and record wastewater constituents, collection of samples or provide access to plug or terminate the discharge.

"Scum" means any layer of matter or combination of air and matter that forms on or rises to the surface of a liquid or body of water.

"Sewage" means wastewater.

"Sewerage facilities" means any and all systems used for collecting, conveying, pumping, reclamation, recycling, reuse, storage, transportation, treatment or disposal of sewage, industrial waste of a liquid nature, wastewater, sludge or biosolids that is owned and/or operated by the CSC, SOCWA or other public agency which is tributary to systems operated by the CSC and SOCWA. This definition includes, but is not limited to, publicly owned treatment works (POTW's) as defined by Section 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1292), public sewers, trunk lines, sewer mains, wet wells, treatment plants and outfalls which are owned by the CSC or SOCWA.

"Shall" is mandatory.

"Significant industrial user (SIU)" means a user as defined by 40 CFR 403.3(v), except as provided in paragraphs c and d of this definition, which includes the following:

a. All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N; and

b. Any other industrial user that: discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the CSC or SOCWA (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater); contributes a process wastestream which makes up five percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of CSC's or SOCWA's sewerage facilities; or is designated as such by the CSC or SOCWA on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the CSC's or SOCWA's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement (in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6)).

c. The CSC or SOCWA may determine that an industrial user subject to categorical pretreatment standards is a non-significant categorical user (NSCIU) rather than a significant industrial user on a finding that the industrial user never discharges more than 100 gallons per day (gpd) of total categorical wastewater (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater, unless specifically included in the pretreatment standard) and the following conditions are met:

i. The industrial user, prior to the CSC's or SOCWA's finding, has consistently complied with all applicable categorical pretreatment standards and requirements;

ii. The industrial user annually submits the certification statement required in 40 CFR 403.12(q) together with any additional information necessary to support the certification statement; and

iii. The industrial user never discharges any untreated concentrated wastewater.

d. Upon a finding that an industrial user meeting the criteria in paragraph b above of this definition has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the CSC's or SOCWA's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, the CSC or SOCWA may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from an industrial user, and in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6), determine that such industrial user should not be considered a significant industrial user.

"Significant noncompliance" means a violation by a SIU (or any IU which violates paragraphs c, d, or h of this definition) as described in 40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(vii)(A—H) which meets one or more of the following criteria:

a. Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which 66 percent or more of all of the measurements taken for the same parameter during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits, as described in 40 CFR 403.3(l);

b. Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which 33 percent or more of all of the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter during a six-month period equals or exceeds the product of the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement including instantaneous limits, as defined by 40 CFR 403.3(l) multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC=1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);

c. Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement as defined by 40 CFR 403.3(l) (daily maximum, long-term average, instantaneous limit or narrative standard) that the CSC or SOCWA determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass through, including endangering the health of CSC or SOCWA personnel or the general public.

d. Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or to the environment, or has resulted in the CSC's or SOCWA's exercise of its emergency authority under 40 CFR 403.8(f)(1)(vi)(B) to halt or prevent such a discharge;

e. Failure to meet, within 90 days after the scheduled date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a wastewater discharge permit, other control mechanism or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;

f. Failure to provide within 45 days after the due date, required reports, including, but not limited to, baseline monitoring reports, 90-day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;

g. Failure to accurately report noncompliance;

h. Any other violation or group of violations, which may include a violation of best management practices, which the CSC or SOCWA determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.

"Sludge" means any solid, semi-solid or liquid decant, subnate, or supernate from an industrial manufacturing process, utility service or pretreatment equipment.

"Slug discharge" means any discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature that may exceed the standards and prohibitions contained in Article V of this chapter and significantly exceeds the usual industrial flow or pollutant loading, either mass or concentration-based, including, but not limited to, an accidental spill or a non-customary batch discharge, which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass through, or in any other way violate the regulations, local limits or permit conditions associated with sewerage facilities.

"Solvent" means any substance that is used to dissolve another substance in it.

"South Orange County Wastewater Authority (SOCWA)" means the Joint Powers Agency (JPA) which is formed by the participating MAs. The MAs individually and/or collectively use SOCWA's sewerage facilities. SOCWA is the holder of the NPDES permits which states the pretreatment and waste discharge requirements for the sewerage facilities.

"Spent solutions" means any concentrated industrial wastewater.

"Spill containment" means any protection equipment provided and installed at the user's sole expense to prohibit the discharge of non-compatible wastes to sewerage facilities.

"Standard methods" means the procedures described in the current addition of "standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater" as published jointly by the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association and the Water Environment Federation.

"Stormwater" means any flow occurring or following any form of natural precipitation, which runs off, or travels over the ground surface to a drainage area or channel or drains uncontrolled to a municipal separate storm sewer system for discharge into a water of the United States.

"Street drainage" means water resulting from surface runoff generated by rainwater, stormwater or other sources.

"Subsurface drainage" means a method of draining that is situated under the ground (e.g., leachate control system).

"Surface runoff" means runoff other than that which is caused by rainfall, stormwater, or street drainage (e.g., car wash runoff, washdown runoff) originating from a user.

"Total Organic Carbon (TOC)" means the measure of total organic carbon in domestic or other wastewater as determined by the appropriate testing procedure.

"Total suspended solids" means any insoluble material contained as a component of wastewater and capable of separation from the liquid portion by laboratory filtration as determined by the appropriate testing procedures and expressed in terms of milligrams per liter (mg/L).

"Toxic pollutant" means any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic by the EPA under the provisions of Section 307(a) of the Act or other acts or that can harm human health, aquatic life or the biological treatment processes.

"Unpolluted water" means water to which no constituent has been added either intentionally or accidentally.

"Upset" means any upset that meets the criteria as described in 40 CFR 403.

"User" means any person or entity which discharges or causes a discharge of wastewater to a sewerage facility, as defined by EPA regulations. "User" may be used interchangeable with discharger, indirect discharger, industrial user, permittee or person.

"Volatile" means any natural (plant or animal origin) or synthetic substances that is capable of being evaporated or changed to vapor at relatively low temperatures.

"Waste" means sewage and any other waste substances, liquid, solid, gaseous or radioactive.

"Waste manifest" means a receipt which is retained by the generator of hazardous wastes as required by the state or the United States Government pursuant to RCRA or the California Hazardous Materials Act or that receipt which is retained by the generator for recyclable wastes or liquid nonhazardous wastes as required by the CSC.

"Wastewater" means liquid and water-carried industrial wastes and sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which are discharged or permitted to enter sewerage facilities.

"Wastewater constituents and characteristics" means the individual chemical, physical, bacteriological, radiological, volume, flow rate and such other parameters that serve to define, classify or measure the quality and quantity of wastewater.

"Wastewater discharge (WD) permit" means the form of authorization from the CSC and SOCWA issued to an industrial user for the discharge of wastewater. This wastewater discharge permit sets forth the limits and conditions under which the industrial user shall be able to discharge wastewater into sewerage facilities.

(Ord. No. 1721, § 2(Exh. A), 12-21-21)

A. .....The following abbreviations shall have the designated meanings:

(Ord. No. 1721, § 2(Exh. A), 12-21-21)